I have had a collision with a driver not looking before pulling out and have had many close calls.
What's so hard about checking? In too much of a rush?
You'll have plenty of time to state your case in court.
Bicycles have the same rights as automobiles.

Yes, motorists and bicyclists have to cooperate and obey the laws. Making eye contact really helps a lot.

But the City of Denver has to increase its role in promoting bicycle safety. If Denver honestly wants to promote alternative transportation such as bicycling, it must increase bike lanes on city streets, increase bike trails, and take other measures to promote bicycle safety.

Last edited by denverjeffrey on May 21st, 2008, 3:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Lately I've been almost hit by other bikes more than cars. It's been nuts. Here's my list of things idiots on bikes do:

* Riding the wrong way down streets
* Not stopping or even slowing down for stop signs
* Riding on the sidewalk and then merging in to the bike lane without looking to see if there is a bike in the bike lane already
* Taking dirt shortcuts on mixed use trails that cause you to cut in to the trail at a blind corner or area where you really can't see down the trail very well (besides being potentially dangerous, this also degrades how the mixed use trails look)
* Listening to an mp3 player or talking on a cell phone

I haven't really had that many problems with cars lately - just some rednecks a month or two ago who violated my right-of-way and then proceeded to yell pejorative terms referring to homosexuals at me, which is pretty good. I've had weeks in the past where I had to dodge someone every day.

They are also supposed to obey the same traffic laws as cars....hummmm?

Hard to watch when they are on the wrong side of the road or running through the light/stop sign or up on the sidwalk.

That's what I fail to comprehend. They want all the same respect/treatment as a car. And yet, they run stoplights frequently. They roll through crosswalks, they ride 2 and 3 abreast in front of traffic trying to clear an intersection, they ride on sidewalks. It's one thing I won't miss when I move to Texas.

They are also supposed to obey the same traffic laws as cars....hummmm?

Hard to watch when they are on the wrong side of the road or running through the light/stop sign or up on the sidwalk.

^^^ gets it.

Why do bicyclists think they are a car, but yet traffic laws don't apply to them???

There was an person bicyclist riding down Sheridan and there was a large pack of cars pretty much riding with him. We all approached 72nd Ave. pretty busy intersection to say the least. Light turns red for Sheridan and cars start going through the intersection on 72nd. Instead of stopping, like everyone else, he keeps on going through the red light without slowing down! Several cars had to swerve, some even honked, and the bicyclist had the audasity to turn around and flip everyone off! So Sheridan turns green again, and the pack of cars catches up to him. the person is riding in the middle of the lane and only going 20 mph! There's a prefectly good sidewalk right next to the road but this clown has to pick the middle of the road. After a while he finally decided to let traffic past after he realized his bike won't go 40+ up a hill and he proceeded to flip more people off as cars went past.

Hey bicyclists, I'm one of you as well, but at least I have the common sense to A) ride on the many, MANY, trails and sidewalks provided and B) obey traffic laws like everyone else!

d-townmike wrote:Hey bicyclists, I'm one of you as well, but at least I have the common sense to A) ride on the many, MANY, trails and sidewalks provided and B) obey traffic laws like everyone else!

You blast bicyclists for breaking the laws, but then suggest they go on and break them again. Something here doesn't make sense.

Here's the Denver law about bike riding on the sidewalk:
Sec. 54-576. Riding on sidewalks.(a) Riding bicycles upon or along sidewalks, whether on public property or private property opened for use by the general public, shall be unlawful except when the operator or rider thereof is a uniformed city employee riding a bicycle or a police officer riding a bicycle is a marked or unmarked official police bicycle while engaged in the discharge of his or her official duties, or when the operator or rider thereof is engaged in the delivery of newspapers or where the sidewalk is part of a designated bicycleroute. Bicyclists shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians on the sidewalks, and shall leave the sidewalk or dismount if necessary to yield such right-of-way.

And here's some information on bicycle laws in Colorado:http://www.colorado-truckaccidents.com/PracticeAreas/8-5-Bicycle-Laws.asp

joemurphy wrote:...Here's the Denver law about bike riding on the sidewalk:Sec. 54-576. Riding on sidewalks.(a) Riding bicycles upon or along sidewalks, whether on public property or private property opened for use by the general public, shall be unlawful except when ... the operator or rider thereof is engaged in the delivery of newspapers ...

Ahh. Just carry a newspaper bag on the bike and get a free pass!

With seemingly less people using sidewalks and more drivers driving at higher speeds, the law should be changed to allow bicyclists to use sidewalks.

But bicyclists still must slow enough to yield right of way to pedestrians on the sidewalks.

You blast bicyclists for breaking the laws, but then suggest they go on and break them again. Something here doesn't make sense.And here's some information on bicycle laws in Colorado:http://www.colorado-truckaccidents.com/ ... le-Laws.asYou know what we really need? More bike paths.

I couldn't agree more not only is illegal for a bike to be on a sidewalk, probably 90% of Denver sidewalks are trashed they have uneven pavement, pot holes and are just , also anyone who has ridden a bike on a sidewalk knows that you are more likely to get hit by a car when coming up to a stop sign, no one in Denver stops behind a stop sign making it very likely that they will hit a bicycle. I am from Alaska and in a state that is frozen 7 months out of the year it still has twice as many bike paths on the streets, the streets and bike paths are also more maintained.

For a city that promotes alternate transportation and is one of the most active and fit cities in the USA it sure doesn't seem to want bikes on its roads.

One is that it really irritates me when there are five wannabe livestrongs riding in a group and taking up the whole lane. Aren't you losers supposed to ride single file?

The second is that while I don't ride a bicycle, I do ride a motorcycle, and people really need to start paying more attention to the lane next to them. Feel free to put down the vanilla latte and get off your cell phone and look before you change lanes. That would really help my blood pressure.

OK I guess I only had a couple of thoughts, not a few.

“If there is one thing I’ve learned in all my years, and I haven’t learned much, but the one thing I’ve learned, don’t even waste your time trying to figure out life.” Vin Scully

nohgoal wrote:I couldn't agree more not only is illegal for a bike to be on a sidewalk, probably 90% of Denver sidewalks are trashed they have uneven pavement, pot holes and are just <a href=http://neighbors.denverpost.com/groundrules.php>Ground Rules</a>, also anyone who has ridden a bike on a sidewalk knows that you are more likely to get hit by a car when coming up to a stop sign, no one in Denver stops behind a stop sign making it very likely that they will hit a bicycle. I am from Alaska and in a state that is frozen 7 months out of the year it still has twice as many bike paths on the streets, the streets and bike paths are also more maintained.

For a city that promotes alternate transportation and is one of the most active and fit cities in the USA it sure doesn't seem to want bikes on its roads.

Welcome to the "Contiguous", my dear friend. I've got something special for you, though. It's in the works, so keep those peepers of yours apprised.

I am not a cyclist. My riding is limited to trips on paved trails and streets with two little kids riding shotgun.

Every weekend of the year except when we are being pounded by snow, I drive down a road which is very popular with cyclists. The road is a narrow two lane road with little to no shoulder in most places. While somewhat rural (compared to the more suburban roads) it is curvy, mostly flat, and has perhaps ten cross streets and 15 driveways in it's four miles. It has to be most scary portion of any cyclist's ride.

95% of all the cyclist are considerate. They ride with quickly and deliberately. They don't reach for food or drink and they don't chat with others.

5%... ride two or three wide, talking and looking around (it is a beautiful area) and when passed by a car, eiher don't move or barely move out of the way. I see two to three cyclist a year on the ground because of contact or near misses with cars.

My question is....why in the world are cyclists riding side by side on a narrow, modestly traveled road? I don't get it. Are these folks trying to prove something? Do cyclist generally hate people in cars? Do they keep score during the ride to see who can come closest to a passing car without actually making contact? Do the not hear cars coming up behind them? Really - does anyone know...

My brother is an hosent to goodness Iron Man triathlete. When I ask him he just smiles and says, "I don't know. I don't talk when I ride, and I don't ride with people that talk".

I wonder if these Obama voters feel any differently now that they've seen The Obama bribe, steal, lie, double deal, hold secret meetings, and launch and unauthorized preemptive war in his first term. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53C2-b8BOLs

It just baffles me how many cyclists think they're a car but yet traffic laws don't apply to them up to and including traffic lights.

You say "Do cyclist generally hate people in cars?" Well, it depends on the cyclist. But that question could easily be flipped around. If I'm driving my car and a cyclist is riding in a lane of traffic in the way, yes, I'll hate them because they don't need to be there.

Pretty interesting, if you ask me. While 95% of the bicyclists that utilize the rural road you describe probably do follow the laws and are courteous, many bikers in the cities do not display those qualities. Every time I see one of these stories I'm reminded of my college days when I worked in Boulder during the summers I was home. I've never seen drivers/bicyclists I hated so much and became so frustrated with. A lot of my job involved driving, and I have never seen such rude bicyclists. You may not think so, but I did witness some cyclists talking on cell phones. Boulder is also a city in which bike lanes abound on almost every major street. That still didn't stop some jerks from riding in car lanes. Many of them also had no regard for traffic signals. Of course I will admit that a lot of drivers don't respect the bicyclists that are courteous. There are culprits on both sides.

Thank you for some answers. I was refering to Easly road between 64th in Arvada and Hi58 in Golden. I give the all a break, even those who are riding in the middle of the road. I generally assume they hve a good reason for riding in the middle of the lane. Eiter mechanical problems or fatigue is keeping them from riding on the narrow edge. Besides,the delays caused to me during the 1000 + times I've passed a cyclist or group of cyclists might be five minutes.

I did have a cyclist in Denver get upset with me one day. He was yelling and shaking his fist. He followed me for while. I kept stopping at red lights but leaving before he could catchup. In a great act of passive agressiveness, I'd wait at the green light until he was really cose before leaving. I don't recall what I did, but I assume I msut have cut him off or come to close to him. I recall seeing him prior to commiting my offense. So what ever I did, I did it on purpose so it couldn't have been too bad.

My brother tell's me he has had two altercations with drivers. Both occured because the cars threw something at him. He caught up to both of them. ( I said already he is an Iron Man...he can ride like the wind for hours.) One guy he caught at a light after ten minutes, grabbed the passenger and pulled him halfway out of the car ad started punching him. He was riding with his wife and several frends. They helped car and his passenger get away. The second time, he caught the guy and started to kick and hit his car (windows up, doors locked). The guy left with a cracked passenger side window and broken to bits mirror. I think these stories are funny... I doubt they are to others.... Bottome line is I don't mind the cyclists. I just don't understand the ones that think they own the road

I wonder if these Obama voters feel any differently now that they've seen The Obama bribe, steal, lie, double deal, hold secret meetings, and launch and unauthorized preemptive war in his first term. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53C2-b8BOLs

Bicycle’s on the main streets, “I have had it, what is the point of our taxes dollars paying for bike paths and yet people want to ride their bikes on the streets, I don’t care if they have rights or not, the laws need to be changed for their own safety. There’s laws that a car must driven a certain speed limit “not to slow, not to fast” why does this law not apply to bikers? It’s not right a biker can be on the main street going in some stupid slow gear going 1 mile per hour and yet at times we have to slam our breaks almost causing an accident because a biker was round a corner, down a hill, you get the point. I don’t mean this in a cruel way, but I am surprised more bikers are not ran over. If they want to be on the street like a car then I want equal rules for bicycle’s same as a car.

With seemingly less (sic) people using sidewalks and more drivers driving at higher speeds, the law should be changed to allow bicyclists to use sidewalks. But bicyclists still must slow enough to yield right of way to pedestrians on the sidewalks."

Bicyclists have no business whatsoever on sidewalks where they are an EXTREME danger to pedestrians.

Mr. Gift: too many bicyclists have proven that they are too immature to ride in the STREET safely where cars dominate and can easily hurt them. Do you really think they will "... slow enough to yield right of way to pedestrians on the sidewalks ..." when pedestrians clearly are vulnerable to a rider and bike going four times as fast? Have you actually thought this through and come up with this as a serious solution?

Many bicyclists refuse to behave responsibly on the street where they can be hurt by cars; it is unsupportable to assert that they will behave responsibly on sidewalks where THEY are the ones that dominate over pedestrians and can cause injury and death.

Too many bicyclists are on a MAJOR ego trip. They are dangerous, inconsiderate, and abusive. The lauded few that know how to behave well and do not endanger pedestrians are obviously riding somewhere other than my Capitol Hill neighborhood..